First-ever ‘Richest People in Cryptocurrency’ list published by Forbes

February 08, 2018 |
By Tom Hart |
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Forbes has published its first-ever ‘Richest People in Cryptocurrency’ list in an effort to legitimize a world initially associated with a criminal underworld facilitated by sites like the now-defunct Silk Road.

“…a snapshot of a critical moment”

Forbes editor Randall Lane said the publication, famous for its annual ‘World’s Billionaires List’, intends to: “[provide] a snapshot of a pivotal moment, part of the transparency needed to pull crypto away from its provenance as the favourite currency of drug dealers and into the adolescence of a legitimate asset class.”

The trouble with compiling such a list is, unlike with Forbes’ fiat rich list, it’s incredibly difficult to ascertain exactly how much is owed by who. This is thanks to the anonymous, decentralized, and encrypted nature of most cryptocurrencies.

Five Categories of crypto-contributors

Forbes’ cryptocurrency rich list is split into five categories. These are:

Idealists

Builders

Opportunists

Infrastructure players

Establishment investors

To make the list, you have to have made over $350 million USD in cryptocurrency.

Forbes’ has acknowledged the fact that some of its estimates may be “wide of the mark”. This is because only a few entrants provided proof of their cryptocurrency holdings. The rest were determined by estimates, post-tax profits from trading cryptocurrency assets and stakes in crypto-related businesses.

19 made the cut

There are 19 people on the list and each member has a short bio along with an estimated crypto net worth.

The only two entrants that could be considered anything close to household names, outside of cryptocurrency, are the Winklevoss twins, of Facebook fame.

However, the publication of this list promises to raise the profiles of all included along with the cryptocurrency market, generally.

“…we made the world a better place”

Forbes staff writer Jeff Kauflin said: “We firmly believe we made the world a better place by shining a light on the invisible rich. Just as crypto has evolved from the days of the Silk Road drug site and the Mt. Gox digital hijacking, fortunes of this magnitude should never be allowed to lurk in the shadows.”

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